


know the water's sweet but blood is thicker

by Caracalliope



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Adopted Sibling Incest, Alternate Universe - Incest, Hope vs. Despair, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26396392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caracalliope/pseuds/Caracalliope
Summary: Karkat is aware that he and his brother have both internalized some weird shit in this house, and he's mostly okay with it. There's just one question that won't stop bothering him.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	know the water's sweet but blood is thicker

“Do you think Bro knows about us?”

Karkat immediately feels like a brain-blistering fool. Bro discussions have no place in their illicit couch makeouts, they talked about this. In apology, he nuzzles Dave’s collarbone, half-hoping Dave will change the topic. Still, he doesn’t take back his shittily-timed question. Dave’s the one who gets Bro, and he can give Karkat the data he needs to keep from fucking up too much.

“I think,” Dave says, “fuck, wait, can’t think when you do that.” Karkat pulls back immediately. The couch isn’t big but he’d rather drop off than keep touching Dave when Dave doesn’t want to be touched. This is more of a Karkat neurosis than a Dave one, but whatever. The couch is big enough for both of them and their assorted hangups.

“I think he won’t do anything about it, as long as we keep it to our room,” Dave says, but that’s just stalling.

“That’s not what I’m asking,” Karkat points out. “We already had the ‘will this make strifing even worse’ conversation. We had it at least three times.”

Dave sighs, closes his eyes. He doesn’t even need to ask for his shades - Karkat hands them over, and watches him go from relaxed to survival mode all over again. The next time Karkat’s called to the roof, he’ll have the dubious comfort of knowing he genuinely fucking deserves a beatdown.

“Okay, I think,” Dave says, “and please don’t fly off the handle, okay? I think he either knows or he’s been guessin’ we’re doing it a long time before we started.”

“Like… since I moved in?” Karkat asks, a chill in his throat.

“No! I don’t think so. I can’t read his mind or anythin’ but I’d say it’s since you started calling me your brother without adding sneer quotes or saying ‘earth human’ before the word.”

Karkat nods. They were around thirteen in earth human years at the time. So that’s still a fucked-up assumption on Bro’s side but it doesn’t hit Karkat in the same way as the idea of Bro adopting him for _this_. He used to wonder whether Bro had plans to fuck him, but that was mostly kiddie melodrama. He never wondered about Dave, even though Dave’s always been Bro’s favorite, his bio-bro, his to teach and mold into manhood, and wouldn't a shitty adopted kid be the perfect tool for that?

No, that’s bullshit. Bro doesn’t make plans like normal people do. Whatever is between Karkat and Dave, he isn't a part of it.

Dave looks tired but calm, and Karkat kisses him again, a promise not to fly off any handles.

“It doesn’t matter,” he promises. “We already knew he’s not - you know. A good judge of anything to do with either of us.”

Dave doesn’t agree immediately, but a moment later, he kisses Karkat’s temple. “Let’s try to run away again,” he says. “Come on, we can’t fuck it up as badly as last time.”

“I’m not saying no,” Karkat says. Last time, they were fifteen, and Bro had stalked them, silent and obvious. They hadn’t dared to keep going farther than the first motel. “I want to plan it, okay?” _Quietly_ , he’ll plan it quietly and on paper. Nobody knows how far Bro’s surveillance really goes. He’s also going to message Lalonde from the account he never uses in the apartment. Running away together is the height of romance, but he’s going to ask for help this time.

“Sure,” Dave says. “You can take me to Olive Garden.”

Karkat’s not sure if that’s a joke, but he doesn’t need to be sure. He adds it to the itinerary, and then Dave distracts him from the itinerary because he removes his shades again.


End file.
